The January edition of Transportation Techies, titled “Autotopia,” focused on moving cars from A to B.
And a key theme of the night was: where exactly are we going to stash all these cars once they arrive at their destinations?

All this may sound ambitious for a historic small town. But when it comes to use of a smartphone app to ease parking problems, an example is close at hand — and it’s another historic small town in Maryland. As we reported Wednesday, in 2012 Ellicott City brought in a California-based firm, Streetline Inc., to set up an app-based service that pinpoints free and pay parking, both curbside and in city lots.

Finding parking in crowded cities can be a pain. The truth is, despite recent upticks in alternative transit methods like ride booking, efficient busing — and traditional automotive substitutions such as bikes and rail — America’s parking lots are still congested. And experts calculate the overcrowding is on track to continue. According to the International Parking Institute (IPI), 60 percent of the world will live in cities by 2030, and IHS Automotive, an industry research group, estimates that the number of vehicles on the roads will tally 284 million, up from 253 million today.

Innovation is a word we hear often, but what does it really mean? Looking at the definition we see that innovation is a new method, idea or product. If measured by nothing else but the sheer number of new companies sprouting up in Silicon Valley and around the world, we are, without a doubt, living in an era of innovation.

Jokes about holiday parking lot wars abound. But time spent looking for someplace to put your car on crowded city streets or mall lots is a serious matter. One 2011 IBM study found that 30 percent of a city’s traffic is attributable to people hunting for parking — with a third of New York City drivers reporting they search for 20 minutes on average.

In congested commercial and residential areas, circling block after block to find an empty parking space can be tedious and irritating. But in downtown Los Angeles, one of the more innovative programs in the nation is making the hunt less irritating.

From smart thermometers to connected kitchen devices to vehicle WiFi hotspots, the Internet of Things ecosystem is expanding rapidly with a host of new applications and technologies. Using CB Insights interactive rankings feature, we compiled a list of the most active venture capital and corporate investors in the IoT space in 2014.

When it comes to driving, we spend a lot of timing thinking about navigating from point A to point B, but often forget about point C, which is where we park, says Zia Yusuf of Streetline. “It’s estimated that 25 to 30 percent of traffic in the city is caused by people looking for parking,” Yusuf said at September’s Techonomy Detroit conference at Wayne State University.

Over the past year we decided to put pen to paper and are today releasing a working document that we’re calling “Opportunities In Vertical Software.” This is Bowery’s POV on 10 vertical markets. It encompasses where we see the most opportunity as investors in the space, who the major and emerging players are in each vertical, some metrics around deals and dollar flows, and finally who the key internet natives are from an IT purchasing standpoint.

“As part of a pilot program, Norwalk partnered with parking management companies Streetline to install on-street traffic sensors, and CASE Parking for traffic counters. The counters and sensors transmit real-time traffic data to a smart phone app, called “Parker.” The app uses GPS data to guide drivers, using voice commands, to areas and lots where parking is most likely to be available.”

“After data analysis by Streetline, Inc.—in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics—using information collected from a smart parking system in the Innovation District, the Boston Department of Transportation is adjusting the maximum time length drivers are allowed to park at certain on-street spaces.”

“What happens when smart parking systems get integrated into the connected car? In the near future, the result may be that your digital assistant, accessible from any device including your car, can share your schedule with relevant merchants via the smart parking ecosystem so they can reserve prime parking for you a couple of minutes ahead of your scheduled arrival time. This and one hundred other personalized services that you’ll access via your mobile and your connected car will make this intelligent ecosystem very “sticky” in terms of the services provided. Early entrant service providers and merchants will build highly personalized and curated experiences for their customers which may be hard for later entrants to unseat.”

Some companies are evolving to seize the IoT market opportunity, while others are leading a revolution. Hear from companies that are taking advantage of IoT-enabled disruptive technologies to redefine the business landscape and grow with IoT. Learn how these change agents are driving the next wave of innovation, business optimization, and industry disruption and what to do to be prepared.

*To view this panel conversation featuring Streetline CEO Zia Yusuf, follow the link then scroll down to “Go to Market – New Business Models” under Thursday October 16th.*

Finding a parking spot can be a challenging task. You could waste a lot of time driving around while you try get a safe place to park in a busy street. That is why our list of convenient apps for car owners, we could not miss Parker by Streetline, Inc.

Drivers can now stop driving around in circles: The Norwalk Parking Authority will launch a state-first smart parking app that will provide users instant access to information on available parking spaces.

“Smart parking is a great benefit to Norwalk, providing an easy way for residents and visitors to find a parking spot quickly, get out of their cars and enjoy all that the city has to offer,” Mayor Harry Rilling said in a statement.

Streetline CEO, Zia Yusuf speaks as part of a panel on the future of connected car, autonomous vehicles, and urban transportation with a focus on the primacy of new information at Techonomy Detroit 2014.

Streetline’s data explodes the myth that most city parking spaces are always occupied. “We’ve yet to go into a single city where that was true, even in downtown Los Angeles,” Schwager said. “What often happens is that you go straight and the available parking was to the right.”

On Friday, AT&T said AccuWeather, Glympse, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Streetline with the Parker app, and Tribune Digital Ventures had all agreed to develop their car apps through the Drive platform. Additionally, AT&T announced a sponsorship agreement with TeleCommunication Systems for the studio.

Today, the Intelligent Transportation Society’s of America, Europe, and Japan announced the three companies globally elected into the ITS World Congress Hall of Fame at the ITS World Congress Conference in Detroit. Streetline was elected as the winner of the ‘Industry Award’ for its innovation and thought leadership in delivering smart parking solutions to cities, universities, corporate campuses, and transit authorities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Experts believe that the power of data and the way it is managed can have a profound impact on an important urban issue: parking. In this recent issue, Streetline’s Asdrubal Pichardo, Managing Director of International, lends insight into how smart parking can act as the foundation and accelerator to the connected car.

Parker (free) by Streetline stood out to us for its thorough street-level information, such as when parking rates change (free after 8 p.m., for instance), where to find handicap-accessible parking, notification when your meter is about to expire and walking directions back to your car.

East Meets Tech is the story of Asian innovation in America’s Silicon Valley. 100,000 immigrants from Asia move to the world’s high-tech hub each year. Aela Callan explores who they are, what is drawing them, and who is making the big bucks. Watch to hear the stories of The Valley’s Asian entrepreneurs and business leaders, including Streetline’s own Zia Yusuf.

Traffic management, congestion and parking are all major challenges and they are not going away. Cities will play a central role in the world’s future growth, but traffic congestion and energy use could limit their potential. This is where smart cities and intelligent transport systems could help.

Connecting a device or sensors to a network is not enough to create an awesome new experience. The most exciting products on the market are set to disrupt what we know about technology and innovation, just as the iPod and iTunes changed the way the world buys and listens to music.

If we ask why we have traffic, we find that studies show roughly 30% of all traffic congestion in urban areas is caused by drivers circling and struggling to find a parking spot. With cities growing at an estimated 10,000 people per hour, the situation isn’t going to get any better unless cities make some critical changes to the way they handle parking and traffic.

Google and General Motors will soon be teaming up for a ride-sharing pilot program which will utilize Chevrolet Spark EVs, according to recent reports. The program will be based around Google’s Mountain View, California, campus, and is — at least partly — intended to help General Motors (GM) develop strategies for the deployment of other ride-sharing programs elsewhere.

As a designer, I love the Internet of Things. I’ve been collecting ideas and inspiration from the Internet of Things for the past year for my website, IoT News Network, and thinking a lot about how to create meaningful experiences when designing smart objects.

It doesn’t really matter why you download a parking app this weekend. You might get a perch at the parade faster, make it to the grocery store before the steaks sell out or get that much closer to the restaurant front door. Using any parking app can reduce your driving around time, and, therefore, reduce the emissions from your car.

Standards, pre-standards and potential future standards relevant to the smart cities of the future are emerging — through new paradigms, city-centric networks, alliances and consortia and certification bodies.

Parking is one of those universal challenges most people can relate to. Parking causes congestion on our city streets, contributes to pollution, and causes motorist frustration in most cities around the globe. As we look at ways to apply technology to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing our cities today, parking is ripe for innovation.

In a time of constrained budgets and efforts to do more with less, cities around the world are investing in new technologies that can help manage the growing challenges of urbanization. From connected vehicles and the explosion of mobile apps, to smart meters, roadways, sensors, and grids, connectivity to the Internet is the driving force behind the intelligent transportation industry’s biggest breakthroughs and advancements when it comes to creating smart cities.

You’ve heard the term and probably read stories about smart homes where the toaster talks to the smoke detector. But what makes it all connect? When will it become mainstream, and will it work? These frequently asked questions help explain it all.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects accessed through the Internet, as defined by technology. These objects contain sensors and other components to interact with internal states or the external environment. When those objects are connected and can sense and communicate, it affects how and where decisions are made, and who makes them.

New modes of transportation, new traffic patterns, and high-speed railways are changing the way we navigate a city. Watch this panel, moderated by Andrew Revkin, The New York Times with panelists Janette Sadik-Khan, former Commissioner, New York City Department of Transportation; Zia Yusuf, President and C.E.O., Streetline; Bradley Read, President, TIG/m; and Kaye Ceille, President, Zipcar.

Some of life’s biggest sources of frustration often seem trivial. Take, for instance, the process of finding a parking spot. When you can’t find one, few things can be more stressful. Fortunately, one company is using technology in an effort to eradicate parking nightmares.

Cisco estimates the value that the entire public sector could generate through the Internet of Everything (IoE) at more than $4.6 trillion. So how does your city or community grab a piece? To gather more detail, I spoke with Joseph Bradley, managing director for the IoE practice, in charge of the Cisco consulting engagements team that has designed and deployed smart city solutions in places such as Nice, France, and Barcelona, Spain.

Cisco is basically everywhere, but I bet you didn’t know that. If you did know that, perhaps you underestimated how much Cisco is everywhere. Follow? In addition to Cisco products and services being everywhere, the company is leading the charge in new growth areas, such as smart cities.

Endlessly circling around congested city streets trying to find a place to park is no-one’s idea of fun. And it’s even more frustrating if, unbeknownst to you, there are plenty of spaces just a few blocks away. But what if your car could “talk” to city streets and find out where the nearest free space was, thanks to smart sensors embedded in the road surfaces?

Data-backed decisions in our day-to-day lives are becoming more common and are helping us confidently make decisions to improve our lives. Real-time traffic lets us know the best route to take, or suggests we run that errand later so we ultimately don’t waste time, gas… and patience.

Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of this Midwest metropolis, spoke of opening parks and libraries and renovating playgrounds. Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, boasted that he monitored Hollywood parking spaces in real time on his iPhone.